The commitments made by both sides to the largely moribund internationally drafted Middle East roadmap peace plan would feature prominently, [Erakat] said.

“As far as we are concerned, the commitments unique to the Palestinian Authority are monopoly of arms, pursuing the electoral process and halting anti-Israeli violence,” he said.

“As for Israelis, they must also stop violence against the Palestinians, end settlement activity, release prisoners and not take any steps to hinder the Palestinian legislative elections,” on January 25, Erakat added.

In fact, the “road map” says nothing at all about Palestinian prisoners. CAMERA’s Israel office contacted AFP editors, and as a result, subsequent updated stories sent out today contained the following helpful addition:

Although the roadmap makes no mention of Israel releasing Palestinian detainees, the blueprint says “progress will require and depend upon the good faith efforts of the parties” as well as compliance with specific obligations.

Israel released around 900 Palestinian detainees in the months following an Abbas-Sharon summit in the Egyptian resort of Sharm el-Sheikh in February.

AFP is to be commended for promptly correcting the record. Corrections on wire stories the day they appear on the wire are especially valuable and reflect a proactive achievement, because the following day newspapers around the world will print the correct information and not propagate the misinformation.